Many athletes (for example, baseball and softball pitchers) have a need to keep their elbow, shoulder, shoulder blade and pectorial muscles, joints and tendons warm and ready for action. Also, a quarterback in football, the tennis player, horseshoe thrower, etc. face the same need to keep a portion of their upper body warm while at rest so that they are able to perform to the best of their ability on very short notice.
In order to maintain a portion of the upper body warm while at rest, an athlete typically has worn a bulky, hot, and cumbersome full jacket, even if only a portion of their upper torso needs to be covered. For example, a right handed thrower would be covering his/her right elbow, shoulder, shoulder blade and pectoral areas, so the left side would not need to be covered. The reverse is also true for a left handed thrower. Pitchers are often seen sitting in a dug-out, bull-pen, or running the bases, with a full jacket on, or one that is worn with a sleeve on one arm while allowing the other half of the jacket to hang precariously at their side. The unprofessional appearance of wearing a jacket in this fashion is due to the athlete's need to keep those vital areas covered and warm, while not covering the other areas of the upper torso which do not need to be kept warm. The hanging garment creates a sloppy, unprofessional appearance, along with interfering with other activities. Additionally, the excess material may get caught on protruding objects which can lead to serious injury. For these reasons, many athletes choose not to wear any protective garment at all, which then increases the chances for stiff and tight muscles.
Another existing problem is that an athlete's elbow and shoulder muscles are more susceptible to injury than other parts of the upper torso. In the construction of a traditional warm-up/athletic jacket, there is nothing that addresses this important issue. Simply covering the injured areas with a jacket is helpful but does nothing to alleviate the problem.
Also, if athletes wear a full jacket to keep one side of their torso warm, and the weather is conducive to a lighter garment, they risk overheating which in turn could contribute to heat exhaustion, or even heat stroke. On the other hand, if athletes decide not to wear any protective garment, they risk stiffness and possible injury of their vital muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints when asked to perform. In the past, the problem of an elbow or shoulder injury has been dealt with by going into the training room and receiving a therapeutic treatment in the form of a hot or cold pack that is applied to the injured area. The problem with this is the inconvenience of missing the remainder of the game, along with the time it takes to get set up in the training room for the treatment. It would be more convenient for all concerned to have immediate treatment while still being able to sit in the dug out with other teammates.
In the past there have been proposed various types of sleeves or similar coverings to be worn on a single arm. However, such articles have not been entirely acceptable for various reasons.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,934 (Perry) there is described a sports sleeve to be worn by a sports player. It covers one arm and a portion of the upper torso of the person. Straps are used to retain the sleeve on the body. The construction of the garment is such that it does not keep the entire upper half of the torso warm because the garment is cut high on the bottom in front and back and does not include any means for securing the bottom of the garment close to the body. As a result, body heat may escape through draft holes which can lead to excess heat loss, causing stiffness and tightening of the muscles. In turn, this can cause injury, thereby defeating its purpose. Furthermore, because the sports sleeve covers only a portion of the person's body, if the weather turns cold, the individual would need to additionally wear a full conventional jacket over the sleeve. This would restrict movement because of the bulky garments. To alleviate this problem, one would need to take off the sleeve and wear just the full conventional jacket. However, in so doing, the sports sleeve would serve no purpose.
Another problem with the sports sleeve is that if the person becomes involved in vigorous activities (such as sprinting, sliding, or swinging a bat) the sports sleeve would move about the upper torso because of the straps sliding out of position, which could cause bodily movement to be restricted.
Furthermore, there is a substantial risk that the straps could become caught on objects, thereby causing injury. Yet another problem is that the straps may have a tendency to become entwined when not in use. The need to have the straps untangled and carefully positioned around the body before they can be fastened may require the assistance of another person just to put on and secure the sports sleeve.
Yet another problem with the sports sleeve is that it is not cosmetically acceptable. It is very important to maintain cosmetic harmony among the clothing of team players. It is also important to have garments which can be worn off the field in public.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,229,833 (Cox) also describes a warm-up sleeve to be worn by an athlete. The sleeve includes a portion for covering the arm and the top of the shoulder. A strap is used to retain the sleeve in place. The strap extends around the upper torso. The sleeve does not cover any portion of the torso. The warm-up sleeve allows body heat to escape. This may lead to excess heat loss, causing stiff and tight muscles. This could result in injury, thereby defeating the purpose of the sleeve. The warm-up sleeve also suffers from many of the same problems as the sports sleeve of Perry.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,570 (Vernon) also describes a warm-up sleeve which is very similar to the sleeve described by Cox, although it appears to cover additional shoulder area and it avoids the need for straps by using fasteners such as Velcro patches. This type of warm-up sleeve would suffer from the same disadvantages described above with respect to the Cox warm-up sleeve.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,796,782 (Gasperini) describes a garment protector for automobile drivers. The protector includes one sleeve and a strap or fastener for attaching the protector to a coat or around the neck. The protector is used by a driver to protect his or her clothes from getting wet in rainy weather when extending the left arm out of the window to signal turns. This protector would not be useful for warming one arm and shoulder of an athlete. It exhibits many of the disadvantages of the sleeves described by the patents mentioned above, and it was not intended for use by athletes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,715 (Miller et al.) describes a protective garment in the form of a jacket having zippers on the front and back panels to permit opening of slits to allow air to pass through the garment for ventilation purposes. The garment is intended for use by riders of bicycles, motorcycles, etc. where the person is traveling at relatively high speed. Openable slits are used to allow ventilation without billowing the garment in the wind. The protective garment would be cumbersome for an athlete to wear in that it would restrict or impede a person's upper body movement while engaging in athletic activity. Also, the restricted ventilation system in the garment would not be adequate to allow an athlete's body to cool down appropriately.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,850 (Grilliot et al.) describes a firefighter's garment having an outer shell layer, a moisture barrier layer and a thermal barrier layer. The garment has a vest section and detachable sleeve sections. Each section is releasably attached within a bunker coat and can be separately detached from the bunker coat. The garment is not designed or intended for use by an athlete. It also is not useful for warming one arm and shoulder of a person. In order to warm one arm it is still necessary to wear the vest or the bunker coat in order to hold the sleeve in place. Thus, such garment would not be suitable for an athlete.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,007 (Girest) describes a shirt or jacket having reflectorized sleeves for use by a traffic officer. Alternatively, a pair of reflectorized sleeves can be worn which are attached to each other at their upper ends by a strap. The sleeves are intended to be worn over both arms at the same time. Such sleeves are not intended for warming one arm and shoulder of an athlete and would not be suitable for such purpose.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,006,495 (Jones) describes a coat construction having semi-detachable sleeves. The coat includes pockets for receiving the sleeves in their semi-detached condition. This coat is not suitable for use by an athlete because it requires that the main or torso portion of the coat be worn in order to support even one sleeve. This could result in over-heating of the athlete. Such coat construction would be cumbersome for an athlete to wear also.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,833,109 (Day) describes a garment for use by an automobile driver to protect against rain, sleet and snow. It is similar in design and construction to the protective garment described by Gaspernini, above. It would not be suitable for use by athletes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,654 (Bruzek et al.) describes a carrier vest for carrying packages and articles. The vest includes two carrier bags formed within the vest walls. Such vest does not include any arm coverings and would not be suitable for use by an athlete who needs to warm one arm and shoulder.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,114,514 (York) describes an airflow garment in the form of a sport jacket having ventilating seams through the back and sides. Such sport jacket does not include any provision for warming only one arm of the wearer, and consequently the sport jacket would not be suitable for use by an athlete.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,741 (Kessler) describes a long garment lining having detachable sleeves. Such garment is not intended for use in warming only one arm and shoulder. Therefore, such garment would not be suitable for use by an athlete.
There has not heretofore been provided a jacket construction which is especially suitable for use by an athlete who needs to keep one arm, shoulder area, and upper torso warm while at rest.